Wednesday 22 September 2010

Download Chrome with... Chrome


You would have thought that when creating an advertising campaign for a browser, you'd at least exclude those users actually using that browser.

(For those interested, not only is the advert by Google, the advertising platform being used here (s0.2mdn.net) itself is also by Google.)

Saturday 18 September 2010

The (UK)government on not being wasteful....

From Private Eye 1271, I found this:

"There has been an estimated 52 percent reduction in spending for the first month of the government's marketing and advertising freeze." announced the Cabinet Office last month. " That is the equivilant of almost £6.5m in savings, compared to the same period last year."

Pats on the back all round. Not least at DEFRA, where filming on a new public information campaign encouraging people to recycle was completed just three weeks before the election.
Even though the entire budget had already been spent on making and editing the film and the airtime was donated for free, the coalition has decided to waste money by not using a campaign against waste, in order not to appear wasteful.

Thursday 9 September 2010

I'm sure this can't be legal...

Via FailBlog:

epic fail photos - Teen Promotion FAIL
Judging from the writing on the wall in the background, this isn't a case of Engrish; just an ignorance of the colloquial meaning of the word facial.

It also appears to be a candidate for The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks, if it wasn't for the fact that Bethany won't take anything from FailBlog.

Warning - exposure to the sun causes subliminal advertising.

Via the Daily Mail (yes, I know..):

It's a well-known fact that shunning the sunscreen and basking in direct sun leads to wrinkles.

But those who thought their skin was shielded while driving, or sitting in a conservatory, could be in for a nasty surprise.

The damage caused by sun coming through glass can be so dramatic that, over time, the side of the face exposed to the rays can end up looking up to seven years older than the other.

[...]

Another study, by [have a guess. Go on. Answer below], found even a few hours sitting in a car in April resulted in skin damage linked to ageing.

 Now, who would want to associate themselves with this little bit of scaremongering, and why would they want to?

Click:

Boots the chemist. In what is a clearly unrelated note, the article finishes off with:
The research is published by Boots, which is introducing UVA sun protection into a line of No 7 moisturisers.

Monday 6 September 2010

ITV Needs You. To be an arsehole for the nation.

Spotted (via Private Eye 1270) in Metro:




ITV NEEDS YOU!
Lively characters needed for new Friday night ITV show!
Do you have a crazy nan, chatterbox housemate, embarassing dad, know-it-all in-law?
Or are YOU the soul and life of the party?

!!!NO TALENT REQUIRED!!!



I have nothing to add.

Friday 3 September 2010

Make time to play. With empty cardboard boxes.


Unable to embed, or archive, the videos to this one, so the commentary is a bit longer with descriptions. Video 1 was seen on ITV. I was encouraged to look at it (with a view to sticking it on here) and decided to visit their website, where not only was the advert on there, there was a second. And some[0] other bollocks on the website, detailed below.


Video 1:


[Two kids, girl and boy, unwrap an empty cardboard] For your kids, play time is any time, and any thing is a play thing.[1]

All they need is imagination. [The kids get into the empty cardboard box. Scene changes to cartoon box kids on a country road(?)]

Play helps kids make friends.[2] <whistle>[3rd 'box kid' comes along.] Grow in confidence. Be more active. [3rd kid turns into a cardboard car with square wheels] And aware of the world around them, just by having fun. [Girl gets into car. Boy tries, but fails, to push.][3a]

Help make your kids who they are today, and what they'll be tomorrow. [Boy turns crank that moves the scenery making the car appear to move.]

Go to maketime2play.co.uk for great ideas and fun things to do together as a family.[4] Scene ends back in real life with the girl in the empty cardboard box and the boy attempting to push it as his cartoon simile was.][1]

maketime2play.co.uk.


Video 2:

[Two kids, girl and boy, unwrap an empty cardboard] For your kids, play time is any time, and any thing is a play thing.[1]

All they need is imagination. [The kids get into the empty cardboard box. Scene changes to cartoon box kids in a cartoon living room.]

Playing as a family improves kids' verbal skills[2] <whistle> [The TV and chair in the room turn into two more kids.] Raises self esteem [Room changes into a large 3d snakes and ladders board which resembles a pyramid.] Helps solves problems [Die appears and gets rolled.] And ensures everyone has fun whatever what their age.

Help make your kids who they are today, and what they'll be tomorrow. [Kid rolls die again, attempts to reach the summit of the pyramid, and as he reaches the golden cup at the top, the sides turn from a ladder into a snake and the boy slides back down.][3b]

Go to maketime2play.co.uk for great ideas [another kid rolls, and succeeds in reaching the summit] and fun things to do together as a family.[4] [Scene ends in real life with the girl sitting on top of the empty cardboard box and the boy running round her.][1]
maketime2play.co.uk.


[0] Lots.

[1] The whole premise behind these two adverts appears to be to encourage kids to play with empty cardboard boxes.

[2]  When they aren't being over-exposed to stranger danger that is, and being kept indoors to vegetate and grow fatter on the sofa watching the TV or playing with their X-Box.

[3a][3b] The only message I'm getting here - is what the characters depicted will be tomorrow is - abject failures. Not too dissimilar to a not insignificant number of 'kids' these days.

[4] We shall now see what fun things we can do with the family (said family being strangely absent from the adverts,) and have a look at the website. If you want to play along, click "Play Ideas" on the website if you have it open, otherwise see the images below...

Well, if it's sunny...

and you have half an hour to kill, you could play piggy in the middle[5]. Or you could do the gardening for an hour. Or Wash the car for half a day. Or if you have a whole day of sunshine, you could have a 'play day.' (Does that mean playing for two half days, where you could wash two cars?)

But what if you're in the UK and it's pissing down outside? Well...

if you have half an hour to kill, you could [5]play piggy in the middle. Or you could kill an hour by making the Sunday Dinner, or writing that Aunt you hate a thank-you letter for the awful jumper she knitted you.[7] If you have half a day to kill in the pouring rain, you could build a den. Or if you have a whole day of pissy-down-ness, you could spend the day in the cemetery visiting your grandparents.[6]


But wait! There's more! What if you're on the road with your parents? Well wonder no longer....
If you're on the bus to [6]visit your grandparents, you could annoy the other passengers on the bus by singing. If the journey to the crematorium (you're visiting your other grandparents) is slightly longer, you could read (assuming the educational system hasn't completely failed you.)

And if you're on an even longer journey, you could [7]write that letter you successfully put off last Wednesday when it was chucking it down.

You're fucked if you're traveling all day though.



Who's behind this? Well it's the British Toy & Hobby Association. They're a sort of union for toy makers

Why are they encouraging kids to play with empty cardboard boxes, instead of pushing their client's products? Fuck knows.